This invention relates to an article transport facility, and more particularly to an article transport facility including a mobile body movable along a path and having an article holder.
Such an article transport facility includes a plurality of article transfer stations arranged along the path. The mobile body moves along the path to transport articles between the stations, such as by receiving an article from a station or delivering an article to a station.
Article supports for article storage are provided to keep temporarily articles to be transported to the stations. The article supports are usually located in positions for article storage such as at a side of and close to the path, not to interfere with movement of the mobile body. The article supports are shifted from the article storage position to an article transfer position only when articles are transferred to or from the article holder of the mobile body. Specifically, with the mobile body stopped at an article transfer location, the article support adjacent thereto is shifted from the article storage position to an article transfer position to transfer an article between the article support and the holder of the mobile body. Subsequently, the article support is shifted from the article transfer position to the article storage position, whereby the article is stored on the article support or is passed from the article support to the mobile body.
A conventional article transport facility has a guide rail serving as the path installed on the ceiling, a link mechanism pivotable about a horizontal axis relative to the ceiling for supporting the article support to be shiftable between the article storage position and article transfer position, and a hydraulic cylinder disposed between the ceiling and the link mechanism for shifting the article support between the article storage position and article transfer position (see JP 10-45213, for example).
In order to shift each article support between the article storage position and article transfer position, the above conventional article transport facility requires, arranged at a side of and close to the path, the hydraulic cylinder for shifting the article support between the article storage position and article transfer position, in addition to the link mechanism which supports the article support to be shiftable between the article storage position and article transfer position. Consequently, an increased number of components are arranged alongside the path, thereby enlarging an installation space as well as complicating the construction.